opinionated alchemist

In my Whiskey Sour experiment (and also in the taste of my last Whiskey Sours in the bar), I haven't been fully convinced about the taste of the whiskey sours. I did everything right: used quality bourbon, used proper ice, shook long enough, used fresh lemon... yet the whiskey sour was slightly too lemony - it had enough alcohol, the right sweetness, the sourness - yet it was somewhat off. No - it was not somewhat off - let me rephrase it - I was not 100% satisfied with the results. It wasn't as good as the Whiskey Sour in front of my imaginary eye (or on my imaginary tastebuds). Not that I tried a Whiskey Sour in another bar which has been better... That sounds crazy to you? Welcome to my world... The problem is that: as soon as I will change the ratios, the cocktail will also loose its balance... and to be honest, I don't really think, that solely tinkering with the ratios, will bring me anywhere... I have been breaking down how to improve cocktails before on...

If you are reading about some products, or even see youtube videos, which celebrate the "latest" new tool, you might fantasize, what you would be able to achieve with it. More often than once I was disappointed when reality stroke! One of this too good to be true appliances is the Vulcanology vaporizer. Simon of www.muddle-me.com loaned me this machine, to take it for a spin. [Big thank you to the guys at www.muddle-me.com - they are awesome - and you really should pay their website a visit - especially if you are living in the Middle East!]. What is it? Basically it was designed to vaporize active ingredients from Marihuana and other pot head stuff. An avant-garde chef (I guess it was Grant Achatz- but cannot say for sure), had the idea to use it also for conservative herbs and spices. They used air pillows, which they placed underlates, but also glass domes over the food to add the aroma. Eventually some "mixologists" had the glorious idea, to use t...

We have a serious issue in bars about denominate the positions. Analogue to "hipsters hate hipsters", serious bartenders reject to be called mixologist. The reasons are simple. After the term became known in the public, a lot of bartenders used this word - unfortunately also a lot of people who are inexperienced. "Call me simply a bartender" is a trend, which is as unnatural and spineless as the desire to be called a mixologist, without the skills. Because lets be honest - even those, who state this, doesn't want to be seen as "normal" barman [or woman]. They want to be seen as specialists and experts. Hence the bartender title, will confuse people, who are not "bar affluent". What is the difference between the position of a bartender in a pub or dive bar to a bartender in a craft bar? But lets have a look on the different titles, we are using: I am using for the "official" words apple dictionary - which I found most suitable...

I was never a flair bartender. I was always more dedicated to service, to quality and to entertain the guests with humor and edutainment - not with cheesy bottle tricks. The only thing, what I did, which can be remotely seen as part of flairing, was work-flair. This is the technique to incorporate flairing into your work routine - however without slowing down and without sacrificing quality. Because lets face it - modern exhibition flair, might look good, but the drink you will get, are forgettable at best [and yes there might be some exceptions, which I never encountered]. But does flairing bring the bar forward? A big no! Great flairing has something to do with 100% dedication - for hand-eye coordination, timing... but the issue is, that it doesn't have anything to do with great service- and it has nothing to do with a great product. A good circus artist could become an incredible flair bartender... but does that makes sense? If it comes to mixology, maybe a good chef...

One of the big question on the stoney way of mastering your trade [I have learned to call it shokunin - which is all about craftsmanship and artisan - but in fact much more]: Can there be any perfection? I am inclined to say: No.  But there were few occasions in my working life, when I felt a convergence to perfection. You can call it "in the zone". Things worked out in perfect balance; my mind just commanded the matter, which followed. It was like being one with the strings of the universe - this moments where usually very short - seconds, sometimes few minutes - yet, they were so memorable and are actually the reason, for the motivation of doing my job - yes and my confidence, that I am doing a good job. But there is more, which can be in proximity to perfection - yes I dare to say they are perfect: Fresh ripe wood strawberries, for example, harvested on their peak of ripeness, while they are comically small, they are able to fill up a room with their ...